Anna Netrebko

VERDI Traviata Netrebko DVD-VIDEO Stand. 0734189

Netrebko and Villazón . . . are young, attractive and able to convey dramatic emotions. . . . There is not a cough to be heard, nor a crinoline in sight. Yet the passion each lover feels for the other is tangible, and Violetta's desperation unbearably acute . . . Whatever the pressures on Netrebko and Villazón in such a wildly hyped production, their open-mindedness was clearly infectious . . . Carlo Rizzi . . . rose to the challenge of Decker's vision, and the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic is peerless. This "La Traviata'' is the best argument for opera on DVD I have seen.

Record Review /
Anna Picard,
Bloomberg News / 22. June 2006

. . . a dream cast with Anna Netrebko as Violetta, Rolando Villazón as her lover Alfredo and Thomas Hampson as his father Germont. Netrebko and Villazón . . . are young, attractive and able to convey dramatic emotions . . . the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic is peerless. This ¿La Traviata¿ is the best argument for opera on DVD I have seen.

Record Review /
Anna Picard,
Bloomberg News / 22. June 2006

A gorgeous Anna Netrebko not only looks the part in Act 1, she also seizes the sexy essence of the fameous courtesan through sultry actions. There's no question why man fall for this Violetta. Her conquests include Alfredo, portrayed with equal aplomp by the consummate artist Rolando Villazón. With excellent audio and superb video direction, Netrebko and Villazón's rather magical rapport comes to the fore, and vocally the two blend superbly . . .Villazón . . . is pure gold throughout. Not content just to blow the audience away with his burnished tenor, he imparts every ounce of Alfredo's naive and conflicting emotions without losing the larger melodic contours. His singing is expansive and dark of timbre yet nimble.

This was the hot ticket at the 2005 Salzburg Festival and it's easy to see why. Willy Decker's minimalist production . . . generates high drama . . . Anna Netrebko is outstanding. She sings sublimely, she is sexy, she can act. Rolando Villazón's . . . Alfredo provides the perfect foil . . . Carlo Rizzi never allows the tension to drop and Brian Large directs the cameras with his customary aplomb. The entire performance grabs from the outset and refuses to let go. Even if you have several versions of the opera already, do get this as well. It is something special. And it comes with a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Record Review /
Richard Fawkes,
Opera Now (London) / 01. May 2008

This excellent Blu-ray from Deutsche Grammophon documents that event, and it¿s obvious from the very visually striking disc menus that this is no ordinary Traviata, with its austere but visually stunning staging by Willy Decker. And there¿s an incredible chemistry onstage between leads Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon -- "sizzling" is definitely an understatement here -- that makes this perhaps the sexiest La Traviata ever! Anna Netrebko is a very sultry Violetta, and she¿s hoisted about on her red sofa [by the chorus members] to incredibly striking visual effect. Besides her ability to strike some seriously sexy poses on the aforementioned sofa, she¿s also a talented and expressive actress and a superb soprano, who effortlessly tosses her lines about with an ease that almost defies description. Villazon is also superb as Alfredo, leaving little mystery as to why he¿s one of the most in-demand tenors out there, and Thomas Hampson is in equally good voice as Giorgio . . . The color palette employed here is pretty dramatic, and on the whole, the image quality is really quite good . . . [a] superb Blu-ray disc from getting five stars . . . The audience obviously loved every minute, and regularly roared their approval . . . the making-of documentary . . . truly offered a great deal of insight to my greater appreciation of the overall production . . . Fans of Verdi¿s masterwork will not be disappointed by the excellent vocal performances given here, and for those looking for a visually stylistic alternative to more stodgily traditional offerings, this is your ticket . . . Not to be missed -- very highly recommended!

Record Review /
Tom Gibbs,
Audiophile Audition / 20. June 2009

The now-famous Salzburg ¿La traviata¿ with Netrebko and Villazón on DG comes out beautifully in Blu-ray, notable above all for the clarity with which every facial expression of its fine acting singers are caught -- which really benefits the drama.